Improvement in percussion-cap primers



Patented Oct. 2 7, 1863.

N. PETE-R5 FHOTO-LITHOGRAPHER. WASHINGTON. D C.

- llNiin STATES Y PATENT Gr mes.

EDGAR D. SEELY, OF BROOKLINE, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN PERCUSSION-CAP PRIMERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No.40A32. dated October 27, 1863.

To all whom it may conceiva- Be it known that I, EDGAR D. SEELY, of the town of Brookline, county of Norfolk,and

State of Massachusetts, have invented a new' and Improved Implement for Capping Fire- Arms; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

The object of my invention is to provide an improved receptacle or magazine for containing and holding the caps for priming firearms and preserving them from exposure, in connection with devices for presenting them successively for application to the nipple, when desired, until all are thus discharged.

The accompanying drawings represent my invention.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of double instrument for containing a large number of caps, intended particularly for. army use. Fig. 2 represents a longitudinal section of the same through both chambers, the partsin the plane of section tinted blue. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the cover of the chambers which hold the caps. Fig. 4 is-a perspective view of a single capper to be used when a large number of caps is unnecessary. Fig. 5 is a cross-section of the double capper at the line w a. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the chamber holding the caps. Fig. 7 is a crosssection of the single instrument at the line 2 z.

Similar letters refer to similar parts in all the figures, and in all the sections the parts in the plane of section are tinted blue.

A is a chamber which contains the caps. It is shown in perspective in Fig. 6, in longitudinal section at Fig. 2, and in cross-section at Fig. 5. It has the general form of an 01)- long drawer. At its front end it has a pair of springlips or nipp ers fastened to its sides within, and meeting so as nearly to close that end. The rear end is closed from the bottom about half-way up to the top. Along the upper edges of the sides there are ribs extending outward, as seen at c 0., but cut away a short distance at the rear end. Near the bottom, extending along the sides of the chamber, within, are ribs a 02. These ribs are cut away a short distance at the rear end, as seen in the drawings. The bottom of the chamber along its middle is from end to end pressed upward filled so far as desirable.

in such a manner as to form a groove along the lower side from end to end. (See 13 B.)

The front end of the bottom is cut out nearly in the form of a semicircle, as shown at f, to admit the nipple into the cap. The chamber thus, formed may be made in any way the manufacturer may choose; but I prefer to make it by striking up a single plate in such manner as to furnish the lateral parts thereof entire, and then solder in the angle-strips a a, as shown, and also solder in the end piece, 0.

The cover to this chamber is a plate of metal, I

having at its lateral edges grooves opening inward and under to slide over the ribs on the upper edges of the chamber, as shown. For a double instrument these grooves are made on both sides of the cover, as shown at 0. At

double, the cover is to be made as shown at Fig. 3, and two chambers-one on each side are to be slid into place, thus producingthe double magazine shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 5.

lVhen the cover and chamber are thus adjust.-

ed to each other, a button or equivalent at tached to the end piece of the chamber is turned and holds the parts in position.

- A is a ring at the rear end of the cover for suspending the instrument. I

It will be recollected that in describing the ribs near the bottom of the chamber it was stated that they were both cut away at the rear end. This is for the purpose of introducing the flanged caps. The caps are to be dropped in flanged end downward at the place where the ribs are cut away, and they will rest upon the bottom of the chamber. They are then pushed forward, and the flanges on the caps will slide under the ribs, Whilethe body of the caps extend up between the ribs, as shown at Fig. 5, the cap being in red lines, while the caps are pushed forward toward the front end or nippers, until the chamber is The position of the caps when in the chamber is shown in red lines in Figs. 2, 5, and 6. The caps, as will readily be perceived, are to be delivered to.

the nipple by the nippers, as appears at Figs. 1 and 2; but in order to keep the caps constantly pressed forward to the point of delivery, I place a follower, e, behind them,which is constantly pressed forward by a spring of sufficient strength. The spring nippers or lips e (I must be rigid enough to resist the pressure of the caps under the influence ofthe spring-follower, but capable of yielding to deliver the cap to the nipple. The groove B B- is to facilitate the placing the cap on the nipple. If any part of this groove be pressed upon the point of the-nipple and the instrument drawn backward, the nipple will be guided to the cap by this groove. To urge forward the follower e, I use india-rubber or elastic cord. One end of this cord I attach to the end-piece of the cover at s. I then carry said cord through a ring,.n, or its equivalent, near the other end of the cover. I then attach the other end of the cord to the follower near its back end. Thereshould be sufficient tension,when the follower isat the ring, to hold the caps forward with certainty. I prefer to fasten the cord to the follower by passing it downward through the rear end of the follower and tying a knot at the end. hen the follower is left at liberty, it will of course be drawn to the front end of the cover in front of the position inwhieh it is shown in Fig. 3.

It will be recollected that the ribs on the upper edges of the chamber are cut away a short distance at the rear, and to put the cover on with the follower and spring attached, I first lay the front end of the cover on the rear end of the chamber in such a manner that the follower will lie in the rear end of the chamber, and then push the coverv on, the unribbed part of the upper edges of the chamber acting as guides to facilitate the bringing of the grooves and ribs together.

To prepare my capper for practical use I take off the cover, fill the chamber with caps in the manner described, and then slide on the cover, as described ,when the caps and the various parts of the instrument described will assume the positions indicated in Fig. 2. To use the capper thus prepared, press the cap held in the nippers upon the nipple, with the aid of the groove, if desired, and .then draw the instrument backward, the nippers will the retaining of the follower always in position, and preventing the caps from falling or jumping out when the instrument is opened. When the case was usedv to cover the chambers, as in my former patents, the follower often sprung out, making troubleto replace it, and the caps, when the drawer was out or being drawn out,would often fall or be thrown violently out, and thus be lost. When caps without flanges are used,- the ribs near the bottom of the chamber or magazine are of course unnecessary. The single instrument without ribs is illustrated in perspective at Fig. 4, and in section at Fig. 7.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I- claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. Combining the cap-chamber with a sliding cover or lid instead of the ease heretofore used, whereby the instrument is improved and its cost diminished, as set forth.

2. Combining the follower and its spring cord with the cover, so. that the cord will not interfere with putting the caps in broad end downward, as described.

3. Placing the ribs against which the flanges of the caps rest at the bottom instead of at the top or open .side of the chamber, whereby flanged caps are prevented from flying or fall; ing out when the magazine is open, as described.

4. In combination therewith, cutting ofi the rear ends of the ribs for holding the flanged caps to admit the introduction of the flanges under the ribs, as described. v

5. Combining two magazines together by the use of a common cover having a ring for suspending the instrument, as described.

EDGAR D. SEELY. In presence ofa W. P. N. FITZGERALD,

ANDREW BLAKE. 

